Martian winds are faster than expected
According to an analysis of pairs of 300 hundred orbital images taken seconds apart, scientist have found that Martian winds can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hours), much faster than previously expected.
The results show that the dust devils and the winds surrounding them on Mars can reach speeds of up to 44 m/s, i.e. around 160 km/h, across the entire planet, which is much faster than previously assumed (previous measurements on the surface had shown that winds mostly remain below 50 km/h and – in rare cases – can reach a maximum of 100 km/h). The high wind speed in turn influences the dust cycle on the Red Planet: “These strong, straight-line winds are very likely to bring a considerable amount of dust into the Martian atmosphere – much more than previously assumed,” says Bickel. He continues: “Our data show where and when the winds on Mars seem to be strong enough to lift dust from the surface. This is the first time that such findings are available on a global scale for a period of around two decades.”
You can read the paper here. The study also found dust devils favor the spring and summer in both the north and south hemispheres, and tended to be concentrated in the mid-latitudes.
What is most interesting about this data, which because it is somewhat sparse has a lot of uncertainties, is that it suggests the candidate landing zone for SpaceX’s Starship is a region with one of the most intense dust devil seasons every spring and summer. This is not really a threat to settlement, because the atmosphere is so thin even these high winds would hardly be felt, but it does indicate an environmental condition that must be considered for any future settlement there.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
According to an analysis of pairs of 300 hundred orbital images taken seconds apart, scientist have found that Martian winds can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hours), much faster than previously expected.
The results show that the dust devils and the winds surrounding them on Mars can reach speeds of up to 44 m/s, i.e. around 160 km/h, across the entire planet, which is much faster than previously assumed (previous measurements on the surface had shown that winds mostly remain below 50 km/h and – in rare cases – can reach a maximum of 100 km/h). The high wind speed in turn influences the dust cycle on the Red Planet: “These strong, straight-line winds are very likely to bring a considerable amount of dust into the Martian atmosphere – much more than previously assumed,” says Bickel. He continues: “Our data show where and when the winds on Mars seem to be strong enough to lift dust from the surface. This is the first time that such findings are available on a global scale for a period of around two decades.”
You can read the paper here. The study also found dust devils favor the spring and summer in both the north and south hemispheres, and tended to be concentrated in the mid-latitudes.
What is most interesting about this data, which because it is somewhat sparse has a lot of uncertainties, is that it suggests the candidate landing zone for SpaceX’s Starship is a region with one of the most intense dust devil seasons every spring and summer. This is not really a threat to settlement, because the atmosphere is so thin even these high winds would hardly be felt, but it does indicate an environmental condition that must be considered for any future settlement there.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
If nothing else, this finding at least makes the windstorm that stranded Mark Watney in The Martian a bit more credible. Maybe, instead of Muskopolis or the Grand Duchy of Muskovy, SpaceX can name its first settlement on Mars Watney.
Dick Eagleson: No it doesn’t make that scene in The Martian more credible. Not in the least. The density of the Martian wind is so slight I am very confident even at 100 mph you wouldn’t feel it. Remember, it is only 1/1000th that of Earth, which here would almost be considered a vacuum.
Bob, minor correction – Martian atmosphere is about 1%, 1/100 th that of earth. Which would still be considered a vacuum.
Don C: Thank you. I never claim any skill with math. :)
I have usually seen Martian winds described as ‘hurricane force’, so the latest findings don’t categorically raise the bar.
Anent ‘The Martian’: Ridley Scott acknowledged that the windstorm scene was overblown, but felt it acceptable to launch the story. I’m not going to gainsay Mr. Scott on cinema.
Andy Weir has always been up front that the dust storm is a massive scientific inaccuracy. But it was one he felt he needed to make the plot work.
I wish he’d tried harder to employ an earthquake or some sort of geologic instability instead.
How does the atmospheric density modify expectations for the “tumbleweed “ rovers.
Gary, I would guess that it makes the wind-rovers more feasible – probably easier to make their “sails” smaller than to make them larger, right? The question of how to anchor the rovers in order to facilitate extended on-site measurements remains though.
Ray, obviously my thinking is backwards. I would think lower atmospheric density would required larger sails.
Gary, as I read the article it said the wind speeds are higher than previously estimated, which I assume would allow smaller sails to achieve adequate motive force.
All: From my understanding of this research, the higher wind speeds apply only to dust devils. General conditions would not see such high winds normally.
The Tumbleweed concept is presently only in its early development stage. It will need a demo mission (much like the helicopter Ingenuity) to pin down the wind reality on Mars. And even then, it appears wind conditions are very different in different places. To get the optimal design will involve a lot of in situ testing over many years.
Even if the martian wind is incapable of picking up and flinging a spacesuited Matt Damon it would seem to be a practical source of energy to support settlement, especially if the winds continue to blow hard after sundown.
I am surprised that little chopper worked.
For THE MARTIAN, I would have the astronaut’s foot start a bit of a slide…a buried, frozen blade of regolith cut into the suit ankle.
Occasionally, people will fall into a sand dune hole left behind by a rotting tree.
This is a planet that never had anything tread upon its surface. Who knows what kind of natural “landmines” await?
Might a brine-rich terrain covered by dust become a unique quicksand trap…triggered by the astronaut’s own heat? Liquifaction?
Mars averages .6 to .7% of earths atmosphere. (.006to.007 millibars) is exactly at the point that ice boils into a gas. (A detail you need to know if you’re freeze drying food) Helena basin maybe at 1% (.01 millibars or one 100th of earth atmosphere) lowest point on Mars that can have liquid water if the temperature is high enough.
On earth, the more surface area on the windmill blade, gives you more rotational torque to create more power. For the wind on Mars to generate the same amount of power, you would have to increase the surface area of the blade by 100 times minimum what it is on earth. With the gravity being 1/3 of earth it might be possible to have such a colossus if built out of light material like fabric.
Solar solar wind blows at 2,000,000 mph (A coronal mass ejection takes two days, 48 hours to travel 98,000,000 miles) NASA is currently testing a solar sail to take advantage of this wind/light propulsion. Unfortunately, the tennis court sized space sail is still tumbling. (you’ve probably seen it occasionally at night)
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/acs3/
The solar wind does not have much pressure being in a vacuum. It does affect satellites, but not by much. The largest surface area object is the space station which has not blown out of orbit yet.
The winds of a gas giant would be prohibitive, but perhaps titan will prove useful. The winds on Venus are crazy, the north and south pole is the only place not blowing. With 32 earth atmospheres of pressure (The earth equivalent of 1/2 mile under the ocean) the wind on the surface is more like fluid… A 50 mile an hour wind would move boulders the size of cars.